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As part of our new initiative on TPF you can come and take part in a series of new in-depth articles and discussions every month. Featured this month are the methods that one of our top avian photographers, Kristofer Rowe uses to get his stunning photos (as also featured on Tamron USA website as well!). So drop in and take part, I know that Kristofer will be happy to answer your questions and hear what you do out in the field with your camera!

As for how much time...not much. I spent maybe 15-20 minutes shooting today and got these wasps....some more sweat bee pictures (which I'll post soon) and some weird bug (no clue what it is). Overall I got probably 30-40 keepers of which I'll probably actually edit maybe 15 of them (no sense in editing 20 views of one bee on one flower).

I usually try to shoot a little bit each night while my son plays outside...usually for about 30 mintues....45 tops. On these hot days I've been going out for about 5 minutes at a time for maybe a total of 20 minutes per day. On the wasp, I just happen to be in the flower bed when he landed so I got the shots by being slow going toward him. Helped that he had his back to me as I approached..then turned around when I was already really close.

Bug devotion might still be an understatement!
I'm now picturing a guy lying in his flowerbed with a camera, light equipment and what not, while a little, bit disappointed, kid is standing a few feet away with a ball waiting for his daddy...:lmao:

But without kidding around, those are really cool shots! Your photo's make people appreciate the bugs around us a bit more!

Another great shot Nate. I cant get that close to a wasp though lol. You might see me with pictures of flys lol. Im a wimp what can I say. Or maybe I can stick my kid outside and let the mosquitoes go to town and see what I can get a shot of. Lol. I kid......mostly.:lmao:

Thanks guys....as for my kid.....well he enjoys walking around the yard with me looking for bugs. He is actually turning into a pretty good spotter (probably has better eyes than me). Plus 30-45 minutes of looking for bugs and 1.5 hours of playing together keeps him pretty happy (I know you were just kidding by the way).

As long as you don't make any sudden or threatening movements you won't get stung.

Click to expand...

Truth. I had the camera on the same bench and was slowly scooting it toward him using live view to focus. Being subtle and smooth with my movements, he didn't even seem to notice me (or care I was there).